somewhere in between there was time for a bath

My niece the, mischievous Zara-Belle, took some time out for a bath and a photo-shoot at my house.  She loves the camera and was born to perform.

Day 9 - Ollie & Isabella

It's been a while since my last post, so much have happened in my life and it's hard to keep up with doing what needs to be done!   

The sound of Christmas carols have started playing and sparkling tinsel is appearing everywhere...  My wish this Christmas is that people will truly experience the love and joy of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ -  that God's Spirit will come down upon every living being and make us aware of, and truly grateful for the gift we received when Jesus was born.

In between all the chaos of life, I managed to set out a day to capture Isabella and Ollie's Toy Story birthday party.  Here are a few shots of the two celebrities of the day.  The beautiful lady-like Isabella performed like a true model, but I had to catch camera-shy Ollie when he expected it least!   I Will post some great shots of the other kids next week.

Day 8 - "Toadally" 1 year old today!

Marcelle is completely in love with frogs...here are some shots of the birthday boy on his 1st "Toadally Cool" birthday bash! Happy 1st birthday for today Marcelle!!

Day 7 - East Coast vs West Coast

Spring is a time of new beginnings.  Seasons change from the coldness of winter to the excitement (and new promises) of spring.  As in nature, life also has its seasons, but that is a whole new topic and I'll keep it for another blog entry...for now, lets concentrate on the beauty of nature all around us that we often take for granted!

I have the privilege of often travelling between the East Coast and the West Coast, and I was amazed to experience the vast differences and diversity of the two regions during this time of the year.

East Coast vs West Coast...its hard to make a choice!

East Coast...

vs West Coast...

...and I found this guy in the West Coast National Park...he was veeeery camera shy!

Day 6 - The Next Generation

With everything that has been happening in our family the past few months, it made me think of the significance and importance of the next generation! 
Generations come and go faster than what we realise, so cherish every little moment with your family and of the life you have.  Here is the next van der Leek generation: Xander (6) and Zara-Belle (5), and their little cousin Xavier (5) ...

 

Day 5

I couldn't think of a name for this entry so I'm keeping it simple.  My dad was unexpectedly taken from us two weeks ago, and I really have no words to describe how much I miss him - hence my lack of a better title for this post...

I guess my love for photography is really thanks to him.  From when I was little, I could remember my dad taking pics with his film camera.  The Polaroid camera was also always close by in the early 80's and fond memories were created and kept with his pictures.  I'll feature some of these memories soon...

Shortly before he went to hospital, I was very proud to show him my blog and all the photographs I have posted on here.  (He still took me to Muizenberg to take the photo of Surfer's Corner - featured in my second blog post - so he was really amazed by the end result).
He then looked at me and said to my mom, "I am going to buy a new camera and start taking photo's again". Needless to say his time ran out before he could do that, so Dad, this blog is for you - so this will be OUR blog now.

I was walking on the beach, just grasping some of the awesomeness of the sunset on Saturday afternoon.  I felt almost as if my dad was there.  We could always be together and not say a single word, communicating without speaking... So Dad I know you will be close te me, just like before when we didn't have to say a word.

Day 4 - Random pics of my weekend

The weekend arrived and we got the fire going on Friday evening for an end-of-week braai at home.  As I looked up I couldn't resist shooting the sky from my backyard again (first image).  I really love sunsets and can never take enough pictures of the beautiful colors in the sky.  Each and every evening He paints a new and different sky than the day before. 

Image 2 - We played a round of golf at Langebaan Country Club on Saturday when I found this empty little tortoise shell lying in the rough (while searching for someone else's ball ;) )  It was so small and it fitted into the golf cart's cup-holder. Just had to capture the beautiful texture of the shell.

Image 3 - was taken on Saturday evening as we were having a sundowner at the Farmhouse in Langebaan - reminding me of the Greek Islands.